My Sister's Reaper
by A Last Kiss For Succubus
Summary: One-shot. Botan and Anise are sisters. It's their first day on the job and everything goes horribly wrong. Re-written.


**My Sister's Reaper**

By: B. Succubus

* * *

Follow the Reaper - Children of Bodom

* * *

When it comes to family they say that blood is thicker than water. Anise believed this was true between her sister and herself.

They weren't born of a woman or artificially inseminated; they were molded from energy. Energy that expands and surrounds our Universe... Dark Matter.

And from that matter they were created for one purpose: servitude.

At first, as children, they were inseparable. If one would fall the other would cry. If one started a sentence the other would finish it. It was in their blood to be this close. To love each other that much. When they were assigned their first mission as a rite of passage into Ferry-hood they were but fourteen. Anise was assigned the mission to work in Human World and her sister was assigned to work in the lower levels of the Spirit Realm. Their mission was to find recently departed souls, take them to Spirit World for judgment and escort them to their rightful places, in the afterlife, of course.

* * *

Anise's mission was given to her by Enma, King of Spirit World. Although at first she was apprehensive about making a mistake she took the proposition. Her sister on the other hand was ecstatic and that helped Anise temporarily quell her nerves.

As they flew side by side on their oars to their appointed stations; Anise had second thoughts.

"Bo, I feel nauseous! I don't think I can go through with it!" Her brows knit together as she took in a deep breath, nostrils flaring. Her shaky voice was thick with a foreign accent.

Her sister shifted slightly on her oar to face Anise. "It's not so bad! All we have to do is escort those poor souls. We've been waiting for this day! Don't back down on me now!" Botan pouted. Anise felt the stinging sensation of tears welling in her eyes. Botan worriedly frowned. She slowed her oar to a halt and Anise followed suit.

Botan sweetly smirked, "Look, how about I go to Human World and you stay here? That way you don't have to leave Spirit World."

Anise's hand flew to her mouth and her brows furrowed, "Oh, Botan! We could get in trouble for that!" Botan waved her hand dismissively, "Nonsense, my dear. We wont get in trouble because," Boton leaned and spoke in a hushed sneaky voice, "no one will know." Suddenly Botan did her neko impression. One that _always _made Anise giggle.

With a smile on her face Anise cocked her head to the side, "Are you sure you're okay with going to Human World, Bo?" Her sister grinned, "Of course! Just remember to use the manual!" She waved around a little white book. Anise smiled and nodded.

With that said they flew in opposite directions, not realizing the tragic impact their decision had made on their lives.

* * *

Botan flew to and fro Human World and Spirit World, escorting souls to their judgment and final resting place. Her shoulder length blue hair invaded her eyes and got in her face and almost made her crash into a skyscraper. Frustrated Botan reached into her Obi and withdrew a red hair tie her sister had lent her. Slowing down she swept her hair from her face and into a pony tail. A few strand fell from the pony tail and framed her youthful face. With a smile and nod she continued on her way to Spirit World as the soul of a young woman trailed behind her. And for a moment she wondered how her sister was fairing.

* * *

Anise swooped down, on her oar before the Spirit World Judgment Room and was faced with the shackled and bound soul of a middle aged man. This was the first time today she was escorting. She was slightly nervous as an Ogre approached and handed her a paper.

She kindly smiled at him, "Thanks, Jorge."

The Ogre grinned, "Sure thing, Anise!" When he walked away Anise turned her attention to the bound soul. It shook and trembled with blind rage and white-hot fear. Instinctively Anise leaned back and her eyes were wide. What a troubled soul, she thought.

As Anise flew towards the Gates, with the soul trailing grudgingly behind her, she looked down at the piece of paper flickering in her hand,

**Alexander III of Macedonia**

**7th Circle**

She didn't remember where she had seen that name before but she was sure she had read it somewhere. Swooping down to the Gate Keeper she handed him the small piece of paper signed by King Enma himself. The old man robed in black looked up at Anise and behind her to the enraged soul. He nodded, handed back to Anise the slip of paper and opened the Gates. Before she flew in she glanced up at the top of the thick welded gate, it read:

**ALL HOPE ABANDON YE WHO ENTER**

Anise gulped. She looked to where the Gate Keeper stood but found no one. _He disappeared, _she frowned at her frightened thought. Shaking her head to herself she slowly made her way through the gates and as they closed behind her Anise felt dread swell within her.

* * *

As Anise flew forward and neared the river Acheron, her face blanched and her heart dropped at such a dismal sight. With eyes wide she observed the countless souls among the shores. Wailing, cursing, screaming and, blaspheming rose into the air like a sick choir of different tongues. They cursed God, their mentors, their parents and their hour of conception. Multitudes of souls walked on flesh eating worms as their naked bodies were stung by hornets. As their salty tears mixed with the their blood, they lamented. The atmosphere was heavy with hatred and woe. At the sight of all the misery Anise felt tears prick the side of her eyes as she floated in mid air watching.

"Lo and behold not the agony here but continue on your trek, ferry girl!"

Anise spun her oar and saw there on the dark and dense waters an old man approaching on a small boat. On closer inspection his eyes were like fiery coals.

With a breaking heart Anise spoke to him, "Kind sir, tell me who you are and why these souls are here?"

"I was created Charon, ferry man of the river Acheron. These souls who have quarreled with God and his enemies are bound here in toil until they earn their rightful place in Heaven. Stay not too long, ferry girl, or risk your sanity."

Anise quickly flew past the old man feeling her heart pounding in her throat. With the soul trailing behind her, she flew further down into the circles.

* * *

Anise, and the quietly seething soul of Alexander the Great, slowly made their way to the River Styx. Upon reaching its entrance Anise abruptly stopped in mid air, the soul behind her protesting, her hand flying up to cup over her mouth to stifle a scream. Her dark hair, by this time, had lost its volume and hung loosely down her back. Her once sparkling bubblegum eyes were dull with sorrow as she observed the devastating scene before her. Souls of all kinds of nationalities lashed out at each other with hateful words or their bare hands. Scratched, tore flesh with their teeth, and stomped on each others broken bones. The air was heavy with fury. Anise, absorbed in the terrible sight, slowly flew downward past the river. Soon her tearful eyes rested upon murky and muddy waters where thick bubbles rose into the air and limbs flailed to and fro the surface. Distorted voices filled the air and she recognized the words as they seemed gloomy and pain-filled.

A sob hitched in her throat and her hands flew to her mouth as she shut her eyes against the misery and fury. Anise urged her oar to move forward and again she flew further down until she smelled the sickening stench of burning flesh.

Lights of red and orange danced upon her pale and sickly looking face as she watch these souls in eternal torment. Burning tombs of all sizes and depths littered the grounds in multitudes. And it was that inside these tombs cried out souls as flames licked their tender flesh. It was here that these souls were bound to eternal torment, dubbed as heretics, refusing to believe in God and the Afterlife. And there, upon a small hill stood three woman like creatures. Stained with fresh blood and hair of serpents they spat curses at those souls. If any tried to escape their fate, woe to they for they would face their hellish wrath. One called out to Anise in a raspy voice,

"Ferry girl, halt and tell us where ye are headed." As it hunched over it's eyes were malicious. Anise's body wracked with hysterical sobs. Her voice sounded broken and foreign to her,

"Where is the seventh circle?" She desperately shouted. Another woman like creature spoke, "You are in the sixth circle, The City of Dis- leave or surrender your wavering sanity!"

Anise swiftly flew further downward with her hand over her mouth to cover any stray sobs. Her mind was turning over all she'd seen in this short time. It analyzed it and pondered over it to the point where it was all she was focused on. Tears ebbed and flowed down her cheeks in rivers and her oar shook as she tried her best to steer it properly.

* * *

When she arrived at the appointed destination it was there, in the 7th level, that her tender, fleeting mind went blank. Quickly her reasoning went up in flames.

Before her was a river of boiling blood and in it were souls of all races, genders and social status that were writhing in sheer agony as the blood melted their flesh and seared their eyes. They loudly lamented their life's wrongs over and over. Though at this point it went unnoticed by Anise, the stench was terribly overwhelming. As the desperate souls reached skyward to her and others tried to climb upon the land to escape their eternal fate, Minotaurs, enraged, shot flaming arrows at the deformed bodies.

"Ferry girl," A Minotaur snarled, "what soul doth thou bring to us?"

Anise looked at him with wide eyes. Her loud and shaky breaths prevented a word from her mouth. Her countenance was pale and clammy. Minos, the chief Minotaur, noted the girls visage and quickly advised her to leave. Without a word or as much as a glance back, the crazed Anise turned her oar in the wrong direction and unknowingly headed further into the circle. Her thoughts were jumbled and her heart was erratically beating. She didn't know what to think... She couldn't think properly!_ All those souls...!_

_THE BLOOD!_

_THE SOULS!_

_THE AGONY!_

_THE BLOOD!_

_**MY GOD, THE TORMENT!**_ Her broken mind screeched.

And it was here, at this terribly unforgiving sight that Anise lost all sense of reality and reasoning:

Hanging there, were souls, by their limbs that were infused into a spoiled and twisted tree that was perched on putrid soil. Upon the tree hung rotting naked bodies of every kind. And upon those dark unstable branches were Harpies that tore and shredded the faces of them broken souls. Their wails and laments were deafening. The damn stench of decay was unbearable.

With hysterical cries Anise came to notice, further behind the Wood of the Suicides, was a desert. A desert where the sand was scorched and upon the sand walked legions of aimlessly wandering souls. Tongues of every nationality lamented their agony and from their red and swollen eyes ebbed their woe. And upon their sore and naked bodies rained flakes of fire.

Anise's hands trembled as she tried to tell herself it wasn't real. Her senses were in a haze and for a moment she forgot who she was. Her body felt numb. She shook her head slowly trying to figure out if she should reason with herself. Her head shook faster and faster until from her nose trickled blood. Her screaming fell upon deaf ears.

With a numb hand and unstable mind she grabbed the front of the oar and when she pulled it upwards she quickly zoomed into the air...

Up and up she went, faster and faster.

When she caught sight of the Gates, her hysterical cries was the only sound she could hear, her heart burst in mid-flight.

* * *

**Hours Later...**

Botan flew into Spirit World on her oar and quickly into the ferry girl station. She noticed that everyone was avoiding looking her in the eye but for the life of her she couldn't guess why. Botan ignored it and bounced out of the room and into the busy hallway. A few Ogres and ferry girls avoided looking her in the face. She felt awkward, almost misplaced. Keeping a smile on her face she walked further down the corridor, her short hair bouncing in her pony tail.

"Botan," An Ogre called from behind her, down the hall. She spun on her heel and in a sing-song voice she responded, "Yes, Jorge?"

The ogre had a pained look on his face as he too avoided her eyes. "King Enma wants to see you."

And at that moment, Botan had a horrible feeling in her gut that it had to do with her dear sister, Anise.

* * *

_I don't own YuYu Hakusho or Dante's Inferno or their affiliates._


End file.
